An Unwelcome Suitor (Entangled Inheritance Book 4) Read online

  Maryann tugged on the blindfold, as if to reposition it over her eyes, but it slipped down again, too big for her head. All of her sisters had already been found, and so had Gilbert and Juliana. All that remained were Martha and Luke, who stood on opposite sides of the parlor. I met Luke’s gaze from his place on the sofa. He held perfectly still, his eyes dancing with amusement.

  “You have been playing for quite a long time,” I said to Maryann, my voice brimming with mischief. “I imagine you are quite tired. Would you like to take a seat on the sofa to rest for a few minutes?”

  She turned around in the precise direction of the sofa, another testament to the ineffectiveness of the blindfold.

  Luke cast me a look of disbelief and mock betrayal as Maryann approached. Her laughter continued as she walked toward Luke. The moment she reached him, he scooped her into his arms. She giggled and kicked, tearing the blindfold off with one hand.

  The entire room laughed, and Betsey gave a tight-lipped smile from her seat at the pianoforte. She still mourned her mother and father, but then, so did I. Brookhaven had not been the solution to that. Martha and I had been working tirelessly to befriend her, and it seemed our efforts were finally meeting with success. Love, it seemed, could heal anything.

  Considering the game to be over, everyone reclaimed their seats, settling in to listen to Betsey’s performance of a work by Haydn on the pianoforte. I sat on the middle cushion beside Luke, the one that sunk just a little deeper than the others from all the years of bearing Aunt Augusta’s weight. There were times I wondered what she thought of what had become of her great-nieces. I suspected she would be proud that we had navigated through the mess that she left us with, no matter how tumultuous the journey had been. There was no doubt she would be surprised to see that I, the untameable one, had married her dear, faultless physician. To see the expression on her face might have made the entire ordeal worth the trouble.

  Luke held my hand as we listened to Betsey’s music. Even more worth the trouble was him. “What are you smiling about now?” he asked, curiosity coloring his voice. He spoke in a whisper, careful not to interrupt Betsey’s performance.

  “I was thinking of Aunt Augusta, and how she used to sit on this very sofa, precisely in the center. I was also thinking of what she might think if she knew I married you.”

  “She would be quite surprised.”

  “She would never admit she was wrong.”

  Luke laughed quietly into my hair, pressing a kiss into my curls.

  I looked across the room at Gilbert and Juliana, where they sat side by side, her head leaning against his shoulder. What a perfect match they were.

  Happiness and warmth flooded every inch of my soul. I had never felt more full than I did with all the people I loved surrounding me. When I closed my eyes, I could still feel Luke beside me, still hear the beautiful music that rang through the air, and still hear the whispered conversation of Rose and Martha nearby.

  Even though I knew that the grandeur of Brookhaven surrounded all of us, I imagined that we were sitting around the fire in Luke’s cottage instead, packed tightly into a small room. As I imagined it, the feelings in my heart did not change. And that’s how I knew I was truly happy.

  More from the Entangled Inheritance series

  A Provision for Love

  by Heather Chapman

  His Unexpected Heiress

  by Sally Britton

  The Rivals of Rosennor Hall

  by Rebecca Connolly

  More from Ashtyn Newbold

  Mischief and Manors

  Lies and Letters

  Road to Rosewood

  Brides of Brighton Series

  A Convenient Engagement

  Marrying Miss Milton

  Romancing Lord Ramsbury

  Miss Weston’s Wager

  An Unexpected Bride

  Novellas & Anthologies

  The Midnight Heiress

  Unexpected Love

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  About the Author

  Ashtyn Newbold grew up with a love of stories. When she discovered chick flicks and Jane Austen books in high school, she learned she was a sucker for romantic ones. When not indulging in sweet romantic comedies and regency period novels (and cookies), she writes romantic stories of her own across several genres. Ashtyn also enjoys baking, singing, sewing, and anything that involves creativity and imagination.

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